ZTE showed off their Iconic Phablet at CES this year, highlighting its multi-window capabilities, large screen, and lower price point. Fast forward three weeks, and we’re already seeing the device hit US shores, although with a different name. Boost Mobile is the first to pick up the phablet, calling it the Boost Max.

The Boost Max features a 5.7 inch 720p screen, dual-core Snapdragon CPU with 1 GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel rear camera, and a 3200 mAh battery. For $300, it’s a pretty decent device, especially for Boost Mobile customers. Unfortunately, the Boost Max is launching with Android 4.1 as opposed to Android 4.3, which was shown off on the handset at CES. Go figure.

If you’re interested, you can purchase the device, no contract, for $300 below.

There are people in the world that just can not keep their smartphone safe from drops, spills, and other dangerous possibilities. For those people, the rugged smartphone market was made. ZTE is the latest entrant with their G601U smartphone that just received certification in China. It is unknown whether or not it this device will escape China or be solely available there.

Hit the break for specs and shots of the device from the back and side. Read more

With Motorola manufacturing Moto X devices with a wide variety of customer-selected exterior options, it seems the door is cracked slightly to a future where the entire device is modular in nature. Motorola has even gone so far as to launch Project Ara, which it sees as the future of smartphones. Motorola is not the only company that is looking down that path. While they have only taken the first tentative steps, ZTE also has some ideas for a modular smartphone and tablet. At CES 2014, the company had on hand a model of the Eco-Mobius, ZTE’s take on a modular concept. Read more

ZTE is demoing their first stab at the smartwatch market with a proof-of-concept device, the BlueWatch. It’s got an LCD screen (not a touch screen) that’s controlled by buttons on the side of the watch. Those buttons will allow you to navigate between apps, including a camera app, music player, weather forecast, and a find my phone app. The BlueWatch is also waterproof up to 10 meters.

Right now, the device isn’t in a final state that’s ready to be released. ZTE plans on adding several more apps and features to the device, including ways to connect to social networks. The BlueWatch looks like it’s going to be a more simple take on the smartwatch design, which probably means it’ll be less expensive than some of its competitors, too.

The BlueWatch is slated for a 2014 release in China, but you can get a glimpse at it in our hands on video below. For the rest of our CES coverage, click here.Read more

Two of the many devices ZTE is showing off at CES this year are the Nubia 5S LTE and Nubia 5S Mini. The naming conventions and design of both phones might be a little Apple-esque, but they have some really unique features on them, especially in the camera department. The Nubia 5S LTE is the higher end of the two, featuring a Snapdragon 800 and a ton of camera tweaks. The device is unique in that it will allow you to change where your focus point is on your pictures as well as adjusting where your source of light is coming from. This should make for some pretty fantastic photos from the device. On the video side, the 5S LTE is capable of recording 4k video at 32 frames per second, which is very impressive for a smartphone.

The Nubia 5S Mini is a slightly smaller version of the 5S LTE with no LTE, obviously, and a smaller screen. It also only has a Snapdragon 600 CPU and it’s missing a few of the camera features that its bigger brother has, but it is available in several different colors. It looks like it could definitely be one of the nicer mini phones we’ll see this year.

You can check out our hands on video of both devices below where you can see some of the awesome camera features in action. For the rest of our CES 2014 coverage, click here.Read more

ZTE has unveiled a pretty unique take on the portable hotspot device. The simply titled Projector Hotspot does exactly what the name implies; it’s a portable mobile hotspot to connect devices to with a built in projector screen. It can project up to 120 inches of 800 x 480 video, which isn’t stellar compared to high end smartphones, but I’d say it’s pretty good for a device that’s as unique as this one is. To make sure this thing can last all day, ZTE stuffed a whopping 5,000 mAh battery in the hotspot, so that’s a plus.

You can check out our short hands on video with the device below, and you can find the rest of our CES coverage here.

ZTE is showing off their latest flagship device at CES, and it looks like one of the most advanced devices on the market. The ZTE Grand S II features a Snapdragon 800 CPU 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, and a ton of software features. It also has a ton of great voice-activated features, including unlocking the device and taking pictures without ever touching the phone. To make that voice recognition extremely accurate, the Grand S II has a triple-microphone design for extreme noise cancellation.

You can check out our hands on video below where you can see some of ZTE’s software enhancements, as well as a closer look at the physical design of the device. For the rest of our CES 2014 coverage, click here. Read more

Last year, Motorola launched the very innovative Touchless Control on the Moto X, and ZTE has just announced something similar. It will debut on the upcoming Grand S II and it will allow users to unlock the device or take pictures with their voice as well as answer calls, listen to messages, and play music while driving. Just like the Moto X, the Grand S II (and other future devices) will only respond to the owner’s voice. So in theory, another person wouldn’t be able to unlock your phone. I am not sure I “buy” this level of security. Even though the success rate is high for voice recognition, it’s not 100%. As for photos, ZTE is touting that it will be a better experience for group photos and selfies.

I know the last time you were connected to a hotspot, you thought to yourself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if this hotspot had a projector in it?” Well ZTE has you covered with the Projector Hotspot. It will not only serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot via LTE for up to 8 users, but it will also project images and video up to 120-inches.If you’re doing the math, that is 10 feet, but unfortunately it tops out at a resolution of 800 x 480.

It also includes Android 4.2 and a 4-inch (800 X 480) display so users can share content via third party applications. You can connect other devices such as a laptop via HDMI or Wi-Fi Direct. It’s pretty small (4.7 x 4.7 x 1.1-inches) so you can take it just about anywhere.

We will be sure to get some hands on time with the Projector Hotspot and let you know what we think. Full presser after the break.

ZTE will be showing what it’s got at CES next week— some of the products it’ll be unveiling include the Grand S II smartphone. The device will feature voice control technology which can be used to easily take pictures and unlock the device. The nubia 5s and 5s mini will also be released, which are phones that feature professional-grade photography.

That’s not all, either— the company plans to release the “Iconic Phablet,” which features a 5.7-inch HD Display, “smart viewer” mode for multitasking with two apps on screen at once, and has a quad-core processor. Wireless charging capabilities will also be built in.

Another device ZTE will be showing off is the Projector Hotspot. In this case, the name tells all. It’s a mobile hotspot and mini video projector hybrid. This device will surely be great for a variety of different environments. Whether it be at home for streaming media, or in the office or classroom for showing presentations, it’ll surely be a useful and handy little device— at the right price, that is. The hotspot can connect to up to eight devices as well.

ZTE will also be launching its first smartwatch, which will be called “BlueWatch.” The device constantly analyzes data including body fat percentage as well as other data.